Happiness

Tonight at Lost Coffee (coffee + late at night + college students) some friends got in a discussion about happiness in relation to poverty. Some were arguing that the wretchedness of poverty, especially in a place like a poor African country, would make a life there arguably less desirable and therefore less happy than a life in a richer place. I don't know about how true that is, and spending a month in rural Kenya couldn't have possibly taught me enough to know it all, but being with the people of Kenya - the dirt poor people of Kenya - only left me with a feeling that those people were often happier than we are. But how? They were so cheerful and peaceful all the day long. Seriously, singing and dancing every night, we could hear their laughter as we went to sleep every night. I guess as long as you have enough to scrape by, your culture can do the rest and bring you happiness even in the dust of africa. Here's a picture of a girl we played with in the village in Laikipia. The jump rope was one of three toys I saw in the village.

Yes yes i know haven't had the idealism beaten out of me yet - but really - i wish my american friends were as seemingly at peace with themselves as the Masai were.